West-er

Yes, I know it's a goofy thing to call Easter but it was so different from most of my East Coast Easters I'm not sure what else to call it. First off, it was sunny and in the mid-80s - not unheard of but definitely unusual for March around here. Then I decided not to go to church, which is kind of shocking for Easter. But the boys' nap schedule didn't quite provide an opening, plus I didn't want to pick up more germs, and blah, blah, blah....The bottom line was, when Zach finally woke up at 11:20 from his morning nap, I decided that rather than fight the crowds into the 11:30 Mass, a better way for us to celebrate life would be to walk together as a family on the sunny beach. So we did, and that felt right somehow anyway.



Luke and I decorated some wild-n-crazy eggs the other day and I hid them, along with some treat-filled plastic eggs, in the backyard for an egg hunt this afternoon. Luke was less than thrilled with some of the treats (whole wheat Ritz crackers, anyone?) but he had fun on the hunt; whereas Zach found one egg and was happy enough just holding on to it entire time. (The professional quality photos are courtesy of Uncle Boom-Boom; the sloppy snapshot is mine.)

Dave and I were still basking in the glow of an incredibly successful dinner party on Friday so we decided to make Easter dinner for the family tonight. Our hubris got the best of us because we failed at just about every item: The lamb got charred on the grill, causing flames to leap into the air; the skewers for the baby potatoes caught fire; half of the asparagus didn't get cooked (Dave: "Did any get cooked?"); the garlic bread was completely dried out...should I go on? Would this have happened in Mom's, Joe's, or Marie's kitchen? Luckily Suzi saved the day with an astonishing cappucino cheesecake for dessert.

But in the end, it was OK because it was family and we could all laugh about it, and I knew that I was just grateful to have family here to celebrate.

Grandma Bobbie brought some treats for the boys to round out the evening; Luke's treat was his first board game, Candyland. I'm really looking forward to the board game phase of our lives. Today Luke is waving around his spray bottle and Zach is gnawing on magazines...Won't it be fun when they're both huddled in the living room counting Monopoly money or arguing over Masterpiece? OK, don't answer that yet.

Closing shot: Zach being cute.